Syndication Ratings: Strips Steady in Second Week of Summer Season

Syndies were mostly stable in the session ending June 11 with most shows even or somewhat higher than the prior week. One factor potentially affecting ratings was blanket coverage of former FBI director James Comey’s Senate testimony on June 8, but some shows got around that by breaking that day out of their weekly averages entirely.

CBS Television Distribution’s Judge Judy was the overall syndication leader for the tenth time in the past 11 weeks, growing 5% to a 6.5 live plus same day household rating, despite the fact that Judy was in repeats on three of the five days.

CTD’s Hot Bench was partially in repeats and held steady at a 2.1, tying Disney-ABC’s Live with Kelly andRyan as the third highest rated show in daytime behind only Judge Judy and CTD’s Dr. Phil. This is the fourth week in a row that Hot Bench was third or tied for third in daytime.

Warner Bros.’ People’s Court climbed 7% to a 1.6. Warner Bros.’ JudgeMathis stayed at its season-low 1.1 for a second week. Twentieth’s DivorceCourt and Trifecta’s JudgeFaith remained at 1.0 and 0.7, respectively.

Dr. Phil was in repeats all week but held firm at a 2.7 to lead the talkers for the 40th straight week. Year to year, Phil was up 4%. Live with Kelly and Ryan made it two weeks in a row in second place at a steady 2.1, although it backed off 22% from last year at this time when various celebrity guest hosts were paired with Kelly Ripa.

Warner Bros.’ Ellen DeGeneres recovered 11% from a prior-week season low to a 2.0. Among daytime’s key demographic of women 25-54, Ellen tied Live for second at a 0.9 behind Phil at a 1.1.

NBCUniversal’s Maury moved up 7% to a 1.5. Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams weakened 7% to a 1.3, tying NBCU’s Steve Harvey, which rebounded 8% from a season low in the prior round to a 1.3, but was still down 24% from last year at this time. NBCU’s conflict talkers Steve Wilkos and Jerry Springer both were flat at a 1.2. CTD’s Rachael Ray remained at its series-low 1.1 for the fifth week in a row and shrank 15% from last year.

Sony Pictures Television’s Dr. Oz recovered 10% from a series low in the prior week to a 1.1, tying Ray. Warner Bros.’ Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen held steady at a 0.9. NBCU’s freshman Harry eased 11% in repeats to a new season-low 0.8. Warner Bros.’ The Real relinquished 13% to a 0.7, tying CTD’s The Doctors at a steady 0.7.

The week ending June 18 marked the second week of test runs for The Jason Show and The Q on Fox-owned stations in local markets. The Jason Show, which hails from KMSP Minneapolis and was tested last summer as well, remained at a 0.2 rating/1 share in six metered markets, down 33% from both its lead-in and year-ago time period averages and averaged a 0.1/1 among women 25-54.

In eight metered markets, The Q, starring Quincy Harris, averaged a 0.6/2, down 25% from both its lead-in and year-ago time period averages. The Q averaged a 0.4/3 among women 25-54.

Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud upticked 2% to lead the games at a 6.4 but was still down 6% from last year. CTD’s Wheel of Fortune inched up 2% from a season low in the prior stanza to a 5.4. CTD’s Jeopardy! remained at its season-low 5.3 for a second week. Disney-ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire broke even, staying at its season-low 1.5. Disney-ABC’s Celebrity Name Game, which will end after this season, remained at its season-low 1.1 for a fourth straight week.

The top-tier magazines were steady to higher, except for Warner Bros.’ TMZ, which skidded 7% to a 1.3, matching its season low.

CTD’s magazine leader EntertainmentTonight, CTD’s InsideEdition, NBCU’s AccessHollywood and Warner Bros.’ Extra all held firm at a 2.7, 2.5, 1.2 and 1.1, respectively. CTD’s TheInsider, which will end its run after this season, was the sole gainer, strengthening 11% to a 1.0.

Twentieth’s Dish Nation dropped 14% for the week and 25% from last year to a series low 0.6. Trifecta’s CelebrityPage held at its regular 0.3 for the 23rd week in a row.

Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory was unchanged at a 4.7. Twentieth’s Modern Family faded 4% to a 2.4, matching its season low. Every other show in the top-ten was unchanged for the week. Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men, Twentieth’s FamilyGuy, Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly, Twentieth’s Last Man Standing, Warner Bros.’ 2 Broke Girls, Twentieth’s The Cleveland Show, SPT’s Seinfeld and Twentieth’s How I Met Your Mother all remained at 2.1, 1.9, 1.6, 1.6, 1.4, 1.2, 1.2 and 1.1, respectively.